Christmas Place Markers

This is another idea I got from Pinterest. A friend came over and we got busy making these cute candy pouches.

I thought it would be fun to put everyone's names on them and use them as place markers for our Christmas feast. I'm sure my kids will rip them open fast and munch the M & Ms I stuffed inside!

Click here to go to the tutorial!

Christmas Table Runner

Every year growing up I was always in charge of setting and decorating the table for big holiday meals. I really got into it! I folded the napkins in fun different ways and just had a ball doing it! This year I wanted to make my Christmas table really shine! First step, table runner.

Now, I have kids. They can be messy. So the table runner had to be small enough to fit in the middle of the table where messy hands couldn't reach it. I looked for one at the store, but there weren't any I liked. So I made one. I like the fabric. It has little gold flecks in it.

The candle thing I found at Ikea. Love Ikea!

The santa's were a nice festive addition!

I've got some pine cones I need to turn into Christmas trees and I'll be about done. I think I may run out of time!

Holiday Card Display

First of all, can I just say how much I L.O.V.E Pinterest? It is the best invention ever! There are SO many good ideas, I wish I had time to make them all!

Here is one idea I saw floating around Pinterest.

I love it! I finally have a really cute and creative way to display all the Christmas cards we get every year. It was so easy to put up there. All I did was tape the ribbon to the inside of the cabinet doors and used clothes pins to hold the cards to it. Now my kitchen is a little festive too!

Absent Minded Reason #2

Sometimes it is necessary to take my driver's license and my credit card out of my wallet. Like when I don't want to take my huge bag in with me to the store or restaurant. I did this one day when I took the kids by myself to Wendy's. That night I changed my clothes and threw my pants in the laundry. A couple days {yes a couple days!} later I was at the grocery store ready to purchase my items. I opened my wallet and my driver's license and credit card were NOT in there! I remembered I had taken them out but thought I had left them in the pocket of the diaper bag. Fortunately I had another credit card with me so I could still buy my groceries. Now I have to drive my car home without my license like I had been doing for the past couple days.

I...looked...everywhere! They were not to be found. I practically emptied the diaper bag, searched every counter in the kitchen, it was nowhere. I was telling my husband about my dilemma and he calmly says, "I bet it's in your pants pocket like it always is." I doubted it was there. I didn't remember putting it there. I looked anyway.

Guess what.... it was there. Every time, people. Every time.

Christmas Clutch

A couple weeks ago I found this pattern from Living with Punks and was dying to make it! I finally found some time to give it a go. I'm really quite tickled with how well it turned out! I've never made a clutch before, and I really liked the idea of using scraps to make things. Such a brilliant idea! Since Christmas is fast approaching I thought it would be fun and festive to carry around! Plus, that's the only fabric I really had that I thought would go really well together. And it turned out so cute!

Christmas Planner

I LOVE this Christmas planner! I think I need to make myself one this year. I've got a house full of guests coming which definitely calls for some organization!

This planner is SO cute and such a good idea. I thought of making different themes for it too: homework planner, art book {you'd have to find a composition book that is unlined though}. You could really do anything with a cute book like this.

I found it on the eighteen25 blog. They have step by step instructions and a free printable to help make it easier.

So cute!

Eggs with Peppers

I saw this cool idea on Pinterest. Sadly, I did not save the pin to my board so I don't know whose idea it was. I will be better about crediting my sources in the future.

We've all used different things to cook eggs inside of to make cool shapes. I liked this one because you can eat your egg mold with your egg. I'm generally not a huge fan of peppers, but I think I'm coming around.

All you need to make this intriguing dish is a pepper and an egg. A frying pan, a little olive oil, and a spatula will be helpful too!

Cut your pepper so it's about 1/2 inch thick. You want it to hold all the egg. Cut out the insides.

Place the pepper in a hot skillet with a little olive oil, then crack the egg inside. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Cook till the egg is firm enough to flip. Flip over. Then cook till desired doneness.

That was easy! Enjoy!

If We Do Not Doubt

Visiting Teaching Message from the October 2011 Ensign

by Julie B. Beck

"In the Book of Mormon we read about exemplary young men who were exceedingly valiant, courageous, and strong. “Yea, they were men of truth and soberness, for they had been taught to keep the commandments of God and to walk uprightly before him” (Alma 53:21). These faithful young men paid tribute to their mothers—their examples and teachers."

I love the story of Helaman's 2000 stripling warriors. It reminds me that I need to be a strong, courageous, and valiant mother. The 2000 young men did not doubt God or that He would deliver them from war. They knew God would protect them and their faith was exceedingly strong!

In Alma 56:45-48 it says:

"And now I say unto you, my beloved brother Moroni, that never had I seen so great courage, nay, not amongst all the Nephites.

For as I had ever called them my sons (for they were all of them very young) even so they said unto me: Father, behold our God is with us, and he will not suffer that we should fall; then let us go forth; we would not slay our brethren if they would let us alone; therefore let us go, lest they should overpower the army of Antipus.

Now they never had fought, yet they did not fear death; and they did think more upon the liberty of their fathers than they did upon their lives; yea,

they had been taught by their mothers, that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them.

And they rehearsed unto me the words of their mothers, saying:

We do not doubt our mothers knew it."

Mothers and all women have a huge responsibility for raising the next generation. We have the power to influence our children for good. These faithful mothers of the 2000 warriors were teaching their children so much. I hope I can teach my children to never doubt so that they to can confidently proclaim "We do not doubt our mother knew it!"

I also want to add how much I love Sister Julie B. Beck! I love her boldness in speaking! She is so inspired to teach in such a way.

Absent Minded Reason #1

I was cutting fabric to make pj pants for my family for Christmas. I had 8 yards of fabric to wrestle with. I thought it would be a good idea to fold it different from how it came off the bolt from the store. It was easier to deal with that way.

I pinned down the pattern pieces, got halfway through my first cut and realized the trees were upside down. This is not the first time I have screwed up directional fabric. Fortunately I could still correct my mistake.

I repinned all the pattern pieces making sure the trees were all going in the right direction and began again to cut them out. When I was almost done, one of the pieces I had already cut out got turned over for some reason. I stopped... looked at it... and then I realized...

THE TREES WERE UPSIDE DOWN!

On one side of my fabric the trees were right side up, on the other side the trees were upside down. This was definitely one of those times where my absent minded nature got in the way. I should have folded the fabric the way it comes from the store off the bolt, regardless of how annoying it was. If I'm right the trees on one leg of the pj pants will be right side up, and the trees on the other leg will be upside down.

Well... at least we will all be matching!

Can you see the difference?

Snowman Soup

I think this Snowman soup is really cute and funny! What a creative way to package fancy hot chocolate! It would be such a great gift for friends and neighbors. I found it at

Brown Paper Packages.

Love it!

You know you've lost it when....

... you start making your own bias tape, and actually enjoy it!

I've been making these reusable toy bags found at Zaaberry for my kids and was needing bias tape to make them. I didn't have the right colors to do it so I followed the tutorial at Prudent Baby and made my own. I have since been trying to come up with things that need bias tape to make. Little crazy? Yes! But homemade bias tape is so much cooler than store bought bias tape. You can use any fabric you want and make them so fun!

Anyone have any ideas for projects to use bias tape with? I'd love to know!

Pinkalicious

I think everyone has read that super fun book, "Pinkalicious." My girls own almost every book in the series... Pinkalicious, Purplelicious, Goldalicious, and now Silverlicious. We love her! I found out that there is a "Pinkalicious the Musical" and they will be in our area in a few months. Of course I had to buy tickets for me and my girls to go see her! They will be getting them for Christmas along with their very own Pinkalicious doll handmade by mom. {I hope these girls appreciate everything I do for them!} I've finished one of them. She is the most precious thing ever! I want to squeeze her all day!

I got the pattern for her in this awesome book "Wee Wonderfuls: 24 Dolls to Sew and Love" by Hillary Lang. It's got lots of cute stuffed dolls! The instructions are pretty easy to follow and the doll didn't take too long to make. I'll be making a couple more of them into Pinkalicious looking dolls very soon!

LDS Women Are Incredible!

{Elder Quentin L. Cook}

I have to admit I was pretty excited to read this article. I usually love when the brethren talk about how wonderful the sisters are. It always makes me feel better about myself and choices I have made. However in my present frame of mind I was hoping to read something a bit more comforting. Instead I just feel even more overwhelmed than I did when I started.

Right now I am feeling very tired of being a mother. It's summer vacation, the kids are bickering, the baby doesn't sleep, the husbands job is very stressful and overwhelming right now... I could go on. Running away sounds really good sometimes. I like to think every mother feels like this once in a while. Especially when the going gets tough. I don't really know, though, none of my mother friends have ever told me.

This article talks about strong and valiant women, with enormous amounts of courage, faith, and hope. Even though I don't feel like one right now (sleep deprivation tends to do that to me), I do know that I am.

I really like the story of the lost purse Elder Cook tells. It's about how these women were trying to find the owner of this lost purse. Every item they pulled out looking for identification told something honorable about the young woman the purse belonged to. I'll copy the story here...

We didn’t want to pry; this was someone’s personal stuff! So we gingerly opened it and grabbed the first thing that was on top—hopefully, it would identify her. It did, but in another way—it was aFor the Strength of Youth pamphlet. Wow! This told us something about her. Then we reached in for the next item, a little notebook. Surely this would give us answers, but not the kind we were expecting. The first page was a list of favorite scriptures. There were five more pages of carefully written scriptures and personal notes.

The sisters immediately wanted to meet this stalwart young woman. They returned to that purse to identify its owner. They pulled out some breath mints, soap, lotion, and a brush. I loved their comments: “Oh, good things come out of her mouth; she has clean and soft hands; and she takes care of herself."

They eagerly awaited the next treasure. Out came a clever little homemade coin purse made from a cardboard juice carton, and there was some money in a zippered pocket. They exclaimed, “Ahh, she’s creative and prepared!” They felt like little children on Christmas morning. What they pulled out next surprised them even more: a recipe for Black Forest chocolate cake and a note to make the cake for a friend’s birthday. They almost screamed, “She’s a HOMEMAKER! Thoughtful and service minded.” Then, yes, finally some identification. The youth leaders said they felt greatly blessed “to observe the quiet example of a young lady living the gospel."

This story made me wonder what the things I do tell about me. Am I doing, saying, and keeping things that will show what an honorable woman I am? I hope so.

Elder Cook talks about how essential women are to Heavenly Father's plan. And they absolutely are! I could probably write novels about that!

Towards the end of his talk, Elder Cook quotes a popular song amongst the sisters of the church...

the errand of angels is given to women

and this is a gift that, as sisters, we claim

As women we are given such a precious gift: to raise, comfort, and nurture our children and other children around us.* I love how the song implies that we valiantly and obediently grab that gift and hold on to it with all our might. We are not letting go for any reason! I am not letting go for any reason either.

Most of my family knows how much I like to write. I have journals and scrapbooks and now blogs to show this. I love to write and create. It's my "out". I always feel better afterwards. And I feel better now. Tomorrow will be a better day.

LDS women are incredible! Elder Cook said so. He also said,

"Our women are not incredible because they have managed to avoid the difficulties of life - quite the opposite. They are incredible because of the way they face the trials of life. Despite the challenges and tests life has to offer they remain remarkably strong and immovable and true to the faith."

* I know the song "As Sisters in Zion" is talking about so much more than raising children. The errand of angels includes SO many things. Raising children, I think, is one of them.

The Atonement Covers All Pain

{Elder Kent F. Richards}

As a surgeon, Elder Richards says he knows pain well. None of us is immune from experiencing pain. He says everyone deals with it differently. "Some turn away from God in anger, and others allow their suffering to bring them closer to God. ... Pain is a gauge of the healing process. It often teaches us patience. ... Pain brings you to a humility that allows you to ponder."

Quoting Elder Hales ... "I learned that the physical pain and the healing of the body after major surgery are remarkably similar to the spiritual pain and the healing of the soul in the process of repentance."

Much of our suffering is not necessarily our fault. Such as illness, death, and other unexpected events. This type of opposition is part of Heavenly Father's plan of happiness.

{While typing this out I am forced to ponder why suffering and happiness belong in the same thought. Why is suffering part of our Heavenly Father's plan of happiness?}

The atonement covers ALL these conditions of mortality. Elder Richards goes on to say that there is another type of pain with which we ARE responsible: spiritual pain.

"Spiritual pain lies deep within our souls and can feel unquenchable, even as being racked with an “inexpressible horror,” as Alma described. It comes from our sinful actions and lack of repentance. For this pain too there is a cure that is universal and absolute. It is from the Father, through the Son, and it is for each of us who is willing to do all that is necessary to repent."

During His mortal life Christ chose to experience pains and afflictions in order to understand us. He chose to learn by His own personal experience. "Perhaps we also need to experience the depths of mortality in order to understand Him and our eternal purposes."

Sometimes we must wait for our healing to come, but it will come. Christ healed all that were brought to him. None were turned away. Our mortal circumstances may not immediately change, but our pain, worry, suffering, and fear can be swallowed up in His peace and healing balm.

I wonder if suffering is necessary because in order to feel true happiness we must first feel true sorrow.

I am so thankful for the atonement of my Savior, Jesus Christ. Without it we would all be lost. It is such an amazing gift we have been given.

Followers of Christ

{Elder Walter F. Gonzalez}

This talk did not speak to me as much as the previous ones did. Though the message was still a good one. As followers of Christ we are his disciples. "The Savior has promised, 'He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.' "

Elder Gonzalez says there are two characteristics that can help us recognize to what extent we follow him.

1. Followers of Christ are loving people.

We follow Christ because we love him and we are following his own example. "Through love the Savior was obedient to the will of the Father under any circumstance. ... The atoning sacrifice, which is unique to the mission of the Savior, is the greatest expression of love ever." He gave the example of Peter when the Lord asked him three times "Lovest thou me?" then said "Follow me."

2. Followers of Christ make and keep covenants.

"The Prophet Joseph Smith taught that even before the organization of this earth, covenants were made in Heaven." Everyone can make covenants. "Making covenants is an expression of love. It is a way of saying to him, Yes I will follow thee because I love thee."

He closes his talk by testifying that we are happier when we follow the teachings of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that this is true. The Lord has said, wickedness never was happiness. We can and will find great joy as we follow our Savior's example.

Become as a Little Child

{Jean A. Stevens}

Sister Stevens began her talk with a wonderful story. I'm just going to copy and paste it here rather then mess it up by trying to summarize it....

A member of the Seventy was on assignment in Hong Kong. "He visited a very humble ward that was struggling in many ways, unable to provide for its own needs. As the bishop described their situation, the General Authority felt the impression to have the members pay their tithing. The bishop, knowing their dire circumstances, was concerned about how he could carry out that counsel. He thought about it and decided he would approach some of the most faith-filled members of his ward and ask them to pay their tithing. The next Sunday he went to the Primary. He taught the children about the Lord’s law of tithing and asked if they would be willing to pay tithing on the money they earned. The children said they would. And they did.

The bishop later went to the adults in the ward and shared with them that for the past six months their faithful children had been paying tithing. He asked them if they would be willing to follow the example of these children and do the same. The people were so touched by the sacrifices the children were willing to make that they did what was necessary to pay their tithing. And the windows of heaven were opened. With the example of these faithful children, a ward grew in obedience and in testimony."

I love this story because the bishop went to the children first. Our Heavenly Father knows children are a key to helping us become like Him. They are often the first to love and the first to forgive.

She goes on to quote Matthew 18:3-4...

“Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven”

Children are so innocent and so pure. They have such amazing faith and are so trusting. We loose a lot of this same trust as we grow and get distracted with the world.

Elder M. Russell Ballard has taught us the importance of the Savior’s admonition to “behold your little ones” when he said:

“Notice that He didn’t say ‘glance at them’ or ‘casually observe them’ or ‘occasionally take a look in their general direction.’ He said to behold them. To me that means that we should embrace them with our eyes and with our hearts; we should see and appreciate them for who they really are: spirit children of our Heavenly Father, with divine attributes”

I love this quote! Sister Stevens ends her talk by quoting one of my new favorite songs from the moment I first heard my precious children singing it, "The Family is of God."

God gave us families

To help us become what He wants us to be-

This is how He shares His love,

For the fam'ly is of God.

Whenever I think about this song, or play it on the piano the spirit always testifies to me that it is true. God shares His love with us through our family. The family is ordained of God and is the basic foundation of our lives here on earth and is necessary for our journey home to our Father in heaven. I love all four of my babies. I wish they would stop growing up. If the love I feel for my family is just like God's love for us, then I want that in my life forever!

The Sabbath and the Sacrament

{Elder L. Tom Perry}

Elder Perry gave a great talk about how keeping the sabbath day holy can help us prepare to take the sacrament. As part of this he talked about teaching our children to be an example of the believers by keeping the sabbath day holy. God commanded us to "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy."

Elder Perry says...

"It is remarkable that even through the dark periods of apostasy, this pattern of Sabbath day worship and the sacrament continued to be practiced in many forms."

I thought this was very interesting and true. Churches of all forms have continually through the ages had some sort of sacrament. He says partaking of the sacrament is the center of our sabbath day observance. There are three things the Lord requires of us.

1. To keep ourselves unspotted from the world.

We hear this a lot and I've often wondered what all that entails. Elder Perry says the Lord expects us to avoid such worldly distractions of business and recreational facilities, and to dress appropriately. Regarding dressing appropriately he says,

"When Sunday dress deteriorates to everyday attire, attitudes and actions follow."

I'd never thought of it quite like that before, but it is absolutely true. We behave how we are dressed and how we dress can contribute to preparing to take the sacrament. We kind of did a double take when we heard: "it may not be necessary for our children to wear formal Sunday attire until the sun goes down." I'm usually the first to get my comfy clothes on after church and the kids are quick to follow suit. I'm going to try to be better at keeping my dress on for the whole day, not because I feel guilty that I don't, but to serve as a reminder of the importance of keeping the sabbath day holy and to help give my children this same reminder.

2. To go to the house of prayer and offer up our sacraments.

My husband and I had quite a discussion about this one. What does it mean "offer up your sacraments"? {I'd love any thoughts on this!} Elder Perry says we need to confess and forsake our sins. "The sabbath provides us with precious opportunity to offer up these - our sacraments - to the Lord." So I think to "offer up your sacraments" is kinda like offering up your sins to the Lord and asking for forgiveness.

3. To rest from our labors.

Labor includes the everyday work of our of our lives. So my question is, can I stop cooking and doing dishes on the sabbath? :) I recently gave a lesson to my valiant girls on keeping the sabbath day holy and we talked about certain things that are necessary to do on the sabbath. Food preparation, bathing. So the every day work of our lives are things that can be done on other days of the week like shopping, cleaning the house, and laundry.

I try really hard not to judge people. It is hard not to do when you see someone who you think is a good member of the church and is not keeping the sabbath day holy. Everyone who reads the bible should be keeping the sabbath day holy. I know everyone interprets everything a little differently, but I think this is something the Lord was very specific on. Keep the sabbath day holy. Rest from your labors. And allow others to do the same.

Probably the most thought provoking sentence in this whole talk is...

"The adversary succeeds when we relax our commitment to the Savior."

Not keeping the sabbath day holy is just one small way that we can relax our commitment. That one line alone is probably the biggest reason why I'm not rushing home to my pjs. I don't want the adversary to succeed. I don't want him to have power over my life or my family. Keeping the sabbath day holy is just a small thing that we can do to honor our commitment to our Savior.

It's Conference Once Again

{President Thomas S. Monson}

I love President Monson. I love the stories he tells and the way the light of Christ shines from his eyes. He truly is our prophet.

I talk about the opening message of conference for one reason...

"May I suggest that if you are able, you might consider making a contribution to the General Missionary Fund of the Church."

I know this stood out because my parents are serving a mission. We have already heard about missionaries who have given everything they have to pay for their mission and it is less than $20 a month. The sacrifices people are willing to make to serve the Lord is amazing. We take so much for granted sometimes. We can really learn a lot from these brothers and sisters who have such great faith.

After reading this I immediately told my husband we needed to follow this counsel. He quickly replied that he already had! After hearing President Monson's message he wrote a check for the missionary fund, and says he plans to continue doing so.

{I sure married a great guy!}